FAQs: ARC PARTICIPATION & ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TOGETHER FOR DEVELOPMENT One UN Plaza DC1-16 Flr New Yrk NY 10017 T +1 212 906 6924 undg.rg
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ARC PARTICIPATION & ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 2018 1. Why is the ARC participatin list imprtant? Why des ARC participatin nly include the RC and selected members f the UNCT? Defining clearly wh is eligible t participate in the ARC at the cuntry level, and wh is nt, is key t the effectiveness and credibility f the ARC. This is als imprtant t ensure that perfrmance feedback is directed t the staff member wh is actually accuntable fr leadership f their agency in cuntry. UNCT member eligibility in the ARC fllws the principle f UN leadership and cmparable accuntability. T participate in the ARC, the UNCT member must be the Resident Crdinatr r a UNCT member wh meets specific eligibility criteria as defined in the 2017 ARC Interim Guidance. UNCT member eligibility must be cnfirmed in writing t the Resident Crdinatr. Of particular imprtance amngst the criteria, is that the UNCT member be accuntable t their rganizatin bth prgrammatically and financially with direct decisin making authrity. Cnsequently, in sme cuntries this may mean that a selected number f UNCT members will participate in the ARC. 2. If agencies are nt part f the UNSDG but participate in the UNCT shuld they be included in the ARC? What abut prject and RCO staff? Nt nly d the participants in the ARC need their agency t be members f the UNSDG and the UNCT, but they als must have full delegated authrity t represent their agency bth financially and prgrammatically in decisin making in cuntry. As nted in the criteria they must als be members f the SMT, making decisins fr the agency staff. It is imprtant t understand that the ARC is addressing the perfrmance appraisal f the RC and UNCT, while als addressing the issue f mutual accuntability f the UNCT members twards cmmn UNCT gals. Therefre thse that participate in the ARC need t be the actual decisin makers and leadership f the UNCT in cuntry. The participants in the ARC will als be prviding feedback t ne anther, and thus need t be cmparable peers having similar levels f authrity and decisin making in the cuntry and thus accuntable fr their agency in cuntry. It is thus understandable that depending n wh is included in the UNCT fr a particular cuntry, that the ARC participants can be a subset f that cuntry s UNCT membership. Advisrs, prject and supprt staff, and partners t the UNCT are nt currently part f the ARC. As a gd practice the RC may want t cnsider prviding input t staff perfrmance appraisals wh are nt participating thrugh the ARC platfrm, and can d s by email directly t their supervisr. 2
3. What is the criteria fr UNCT members participating in the ARC? Eligibility in the ARC fllws the principle f UN leadership and cmparable accuntability. Participatin is mandatry fr the Resident Crdinatr. Fr UNCT member participatin in the ARC, the UNCT member must meet specific eligibility criteria. i. Criteria fr participatin f Resident Agencies Criteria 1: Must be a full-time UN Staff member** Criteria 2: The agency f the staff member must be an agency f the UNSDG 1 Criteria 3: Has been in their current rle fr a minimum f 6 mnths during the calendar year being appraised Criteria 4: Has full delegated authrity frm their agency n bth the financial and prgrammatic decisin making fr their respective agency Criteria 5: Is a member f the Security Management Team and a decisin maker n the security f their agency staff ii. Criteria fr participatin f Nn-Resident Agencies Criteria 1: Must be a full-time UN Staff member** Criteria 2: Staff member must be accredited r have frmal representatin t the cuntry Criteria 3: Staff member agency must be a member f the UNSDG Criteria 4: Has been in their current rle fr a minimum f 6 mnths during the calendar year being appraised Criteria 5: Has full delegated authrity frm their agency n bth the financial and prgrammatic decisin making fr their respective agency **UN staff members that meet all the ARC criteria fr mre than ne UNCT will need t chse ne cuntry that they are engaged in mst fr their participatin in 2018. Please infrm arc@undg.rg shuld there be a change. The ARC is a perfrmance management system, and thus a HR system where perfrmance management is managed as a ne t ne relatinship with a staff member meaning that each staff member has ne perfrmance recrd per year. Therefre, currently the platfrm nly allws fr each staff member t have ne perfrmance recrd attached t their name fr a perfrmance year. 1 List f UNSDG agencies can be fund here: https://undg.rg/abut/undg-glbal/undg/ 3
The Resident Crdinatr is respnsible fr ensuring UNCT ARC members are in adherence t the criteria fr participatin f Resident and Nn-Resident Agencies 4. Can UNCT members frm Nn-Resident Agencies (NRAs) participate in the ARC? NRAs can participate in the ARC if they meet the fllwing criteria: Criteria 1: Must be a full-time UN Staff member** Criteria 2: Staff member must be accredited r have frmal representatin t the cuntry Criteria 3: Staff member agency must be a member f the UNSDG Criteria 4: Has been in their current rle fr a minimum f 6 mnths during the calendar year being appraised Criteria 5: Has full delegated authrity frm their agency n bth the financial and prgrammatic decisin making fr their respective agency **UN staff members that meet all the ARC criteria fr mre than ne UNCT will need t chse ne cuntry that they are engaged in mst fr their participatin in 2018. Please infrm arc@undg.rg shuld there be a change. The ARC is a perfrmance management system, and thus a HR system where perfrmance management is managed as a ne t ne relatinship with a staff member meaning that each staff member has ne perfrmance recrd per year. Therefre, currently the platfrm nly allws fr each staff member t have ne perfrmance recrd attached t their name fr a perfrmance year. 5. What happens if the Resident Crdinatr is acting interim? Thse UNCT members that are als perfrming the Resident Crdinatr ad interim rle (RC a.i.) are nt assessed as part f the ARC perfrmance appraisal prcess in their rle as RC a.i. Hwever, their individual cntributins t the UNCT Gals shuld be included and shared with their agency as a UNCT member participating in the ARC, as well as with the ther ARC participants t allw fr peer feedback at year end. 6. Des the UNDP Resident Representative participate in the ARC? It is the UN Resident Crdinatr functin that is assessed in the ARC, and nt the UNDP Resident Representative functin. The UNDP Cuntry Directr (CD) r UNDP Deputy Resident Representative (DRR) represent UNDP in the UNCT Cuntry Team, and wuld participate in the ARC. 4
7. Shuld DSS and OCHA Advisrs be part f the ARC? N, advisrs frm UNDSS r OCHA d nt participate in the ARC at the cuntry level. Fr the DO functin, UNDSS in HQ will be prviding their assessment and fr the HC rle OCHA in HQ will be prviding the feedback f the ERC. 8. Can a Reginal Directr participate in the ARC as a Reginal UNSDG Perfrmance Management Team member and as a UNCT member? Only ne rle per staff member in the ARC prcess is permissible. If a Reginal Directr participates in the Reginal UNSDG Perfrmance Management Team (at the D2 level and abve) and als meets the eligibility criteria as UNCT member participating in the ARC fr a particular cuntry, then the Reginal Directr must recuse themselves frm the Reginal UNSDG PMT discussin fr that specific cuntry. 9. Why is it mandatry t have a UN Index Number t access the ARC? The UN Index number is being utilized as a unique identifier fr each staff member t ensure security f infrmatin and accuntability. Since this is a perfrmance appraisal platfrm fr RC/UNCTs it needs t maintain a high level f security and cnfidentiality. The UN Index number als demnstrates that the individual is a full-time UN staff persn and nt a cnsultant r prject specific staff. 10. What is the Entry n Duty field infrmatin that needs t be submitted t gain access t the ARC? The date submitted shuld be when the individual started his/her psitin in their current capacity and nt based n hw lng they have been in the cuntry. This is utilized t verify eligibility as the staff member must have been in their functin fr at least 6 mnths f the calendar year being assessed t participate in the ARC fr a specific cuntry. 11. Why is the ARC participatin list fr 2017 different frm what we initially submitted? The 2017 UNCT ARC member lists that were prvided by RCs went thrugh a vetting prcess at HQ. Thse that are nt n the platfrm were remved either because they did nt meet the eligibility criteria t participate in the ARC r the cntact infrmatin f the UN staff member prvided was incmplete. Defining clearly wh is eligible t participate in the ARC at the cuntry level, and wh is nt, is key t the effectiveness and credibility f the ARC. This is als imprtant t ensure that 5
perfrmance feedback is directed t the staff member wh is actually accuntable fr leadership f their agency in cuntry. UNCT member eligibility in the ARC fllws the principle f UN leadership and cmparable accuntability. T participate in the ARC, the UNCT member must be the Resident Crdinatr r a UNCT member wh meets specific eligibility criteria as defined in the 2018 ARC Guidance. UNCT member eligibility must be cnfirmed in writing t the Resident Crdinatr. Of particular imprtance amngst the criteria, is that the UNCT member be accuntable t their rganizatin bth prgrammatically and financially with direct decisin making authrity. Cnsequently, in sme cuntries this may mean that nly a select number f UNCT members will participate in the ARC. Fr mre details n ARC participatin we encurage yu t read the 2018 ARC Guidance. 12. Which are the UN agencies that are members f the UNSDG and have peratinal presence at the cuntry level? The current members f the UNSDG fr 2018 purpses can be fund here: https://undg.rg/abut/undg-glbal/undg/. 13. If I have additinal questins n the UNCT member participatin f the ARC where d I g? First check the relevant sectin in the 2018 ARC Guidance. Fr any further questins email arc@undg.rg and yu will receive a respnse within 5 business days. 6